JAZZ Q

The greatest thing about this album is the feeling of completion. By that I mean the sense of wholeness, that the music is bound together as a complete suite. The songs may differ from each other but together they form a tapestry and that to me is grand stuff. The problem, on the other hand, is that while the music is very pleasant, atmospheric and well played, it becomes more of a background soundtrack to the day. That is not bad in itsekf but few songs stick out making me go "Ooh, here's that one!" And that is a pity, I think.

When I first ventured into this album I found the first track to be outright silly. I found the riff childish and had trouble getting past that. Now I have risen from the ashes and actually like it. It is a great opener and shows clearly what this band is all about. They are a competent bunch of eager musicians. My favorite song is "Zrava dama" which sticks out in the crowd. With it's great keyboard riff and the guitar on top, it gets my blood flowing. It is a song which showcases their ability to throw themselves between hard fusion and the most delicate jazziness. A fine song, that is.

As a whole I have to confess I enjoy but I do not love it. It is one of those albums I play every now and then and find enjoyable, perfectly suited for an evening at home, reading or just relaxing. The problem for me, as I have mentioned, is the fusion in itself. I have a hard time swallowing it's neat overcoat. I have the same problem with Weather Report and others in the same league. It gets too clean. I need dirt and the Devil may care attitude found in jazz-rock of the late 60's and early 70's. While this music is flawless and extremely talented it lacks some emotion. I think there is plenty of heart in here, that is not the problem. It borders on sterile and that is not for me.

So, if you are heavily into fusion I would say that this could be your cup of tea and I belive you would do well to check it out. If you're not, I'd say you might aswell look the other way. I find the rating hard. As a fusion album it's bound to be good but my heart is not really moved. So, therefore I will rate it three stars. Good but non-essential. As it were.

Jazz Q is in part at puzzling band. I got to know them by way of Modry Efekt (a band I cannot stop praising) on the album Coniunctio. After that free form jazz-rock experiment they went into Pozoravatelna, which was another fusion-oriented jazz-rock album of some great worth. After that they went headlong into proper jazz-rock with all guns blazing on Symbiosis. A great album, void of the slick, sometimes noodling fusion to come on later albums. And then there's this live album. A pure, for the most part anyway, bluesy affair. Sort of weird but at the same time extremely interesting turn of events, especially when viewed hindsight.

This album has very, very little to do with prog. Actually it is not, I'd say. Well, there are jazzy playing alright and "Freedom jazz dance" is jazz-rock but for the most part, as I've stated, it is a blues album played in front of a live audience. Actually, as live albums go it's not bad. Not bad at all. The sound quality is not for audiophiles, a thing that actually increases the album's worth. It gives it that extra edge.

The performance is lively and raucious, well played and groovy in that bluesy, jazz-rock kind of way. The cover of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the city" is quite nice and "Sanctuary" is another pleasant tune. Personally I enjoy the first three tracks the most. They are kicking and lively and puts a smile on my face.

Live albums are seldom essential. Sometimes they are an excellent addition to one's collection but mostly they are not. In this case I'd say it is for collectors only BUT i still think it shows the bands attitude towards music and jazz-rock in general. As such it is interesting and in retrospect it shows a band able to cross the boundaries between jazz, rock, blues and beyond in a very competent and able manner. Not prog but still an interesting piece of musical history.

Three stars and a smiling face.

Unlike Pozoravatelna Symbiosis is graced with vocals by Joan Duggan. She sounds like a Czech Janis Joplin or Maggie Bell. Sort of hoarse and powerful. The material on Symbiosis is really jazz-rock of the old school. Gritty, lengthy and soulful. This was the first album I really delved into and it is the only album by Jazz Q I find really interesting, seeing that I am no big fan of slick, noodling fusion.

"From dark to light" is a really great track. A slow, ballady thing that transcends the usual. It is spacious and floating, flowing and really interesting. The next track, "Lost soul", is apart from "The wizard" my favorite on here. Such a heavy piece, with the electric piano thumping and stabbing those great jazzy chords over the distorted guitar. Marvellous!

Then there is "The wizard". 16 minutes of jazz-rock extravaganza. It is really a tour de force of the genre, building and transforming itself it goes from rough to smooth and back again. Really impressive piece.

I sometimes find Duggans vocals to be slightly annoying, actually, but I am able to see past that and recognize the immense quality of this album. It is tight, cohesive, progressive and inspired. I really dig it and think that, while not in my top 5 when it comes to jazz-rock, it deserves to be ranked a classic in it's genre. More people really ought to check it out.

This, their first album, is in many ways their best. It builds in some aspects on the sounds of Coniunctio, though not nearly as intense as that album. The music on Pozoravatelna is certainly more noodling and spacious, though interrupted at times (thank God) by more frantic outbursts.

The album is almost entirely instrumental, apart from some vocals added by Joan Duggan. The playing is impeccable and the sound, especially the guitar, is quite raw in a good way, as much of the early 70's jazz-rock.

I think that Pozoravatelna is a bit too heavy on the noodling and the jazz is in a too pure a form for me personally. The interesting parts are those that rock, where the band kicks and tears up a storm. That's where I start to dig it. The best song is "Trifid" which balances their jazzy side with rock wonderfully.

All in all I'd say that this album, along their next, is the best of the lot. Their fusiony style got too slick and noodling for my taste in the years to come, leaving much of the raw elements aside. Too bad, really. On the other hand, if you are into fusion I think Jazz Q has a lot to offer. Highly skilled and competent they do produce top notch fusion. I guess it is just not for me. My rating will be three stars and that is by my personal taste. If you like fusion, I guess you could rate it four.

As with their fellow country men in Modry Efekt the band changes direction throughout their recording career. Maybe not to the same extent as Modry Efekt but they do progress.

The first two albums are the best. The music displays a great fusion between rock, prog and jazz. The first album, Pozorovatelna, is quite something. Great jazz-rock with a slight free form feeling. The second album follows in the jazz-rock vein, though less free in it's form. I guess that is the album I prefer the most.

After the first two albums they ride straight into the land of Fusion and the further they ride the more slick and fusionish they become. Now, I don't mind fusion but I find that the genre at times get too meandering and pointless. Well executed but there's not much going on. Maybe that is a harsh judgement. Still, I think it is true, at least as far as Jazz Q is concerned. Elegie is a great album in many ways but the later ones are just a bit too clean and fusion-y for my taste.

Is this a relevant box? Well, I don't know. The Modry Efekt box is essential, I think. I will never give that up. I like the Jazz Q box, for sure. It is interesting and the progress is worth a listen. I would not, however, recommend someone to buy this box unless you are seriously into fusion. The first two or three albums are well worth having but on a personal level I would not have bought the fusion-ridden later ones. That is not to say that they are bad. Thet are, in fact, extremely well played and executed, just not that exciting.

All in all, an interesting box but not essential in the least.

"From Dark To Light" is very laid back and reserved vocals come in around 1 1/2 minutes. During one section after 3 minutes she almost speaks the words then it's back to the reserved singing. "Lost Soul" is a slow to mid-paced tune with a fairly heavy sound with the guitar contributing a lot to that. Vocals join in before a minute then we get a guitar solo before 2 minutes until around 3 minutes when the vocals return. Electric piano after 4 minutes as the vocals stop but the guitar continues. "Starbird" is laid back like the opener with vocals. It's fuller after 2 minutes but it settles back again. The guitar replaces the vocals after 3 1/2 minutes then the electric piano leads. Vocals are back after 5 minutes. It picks up during the final minute to a jazzy mode with vocal melodies.

"The Wizard" is by far my favourite and it's not because it's 16 1/2 minutes long either. It picks up 1 1/2 minutes in and the vocals join in. This is great ! Electric piano and vocals are most excellent here. Guitar comes in after 7 minutes and leads as the vocals stop. A calm follows where bass and sparse piano take over including a bass solo. It kicks back in after 10 1/2 minutes with vocals. Some passion here then the guitar solos before 12 1/2 minutes when the vocals stop. Vocal melodies 14 minutes in as the guitar continues to solo. Vocals are back after 14 1/2 minutes. What a song ! "Epilogue" ends it and it's a somewhat spacey instrumental.

I would rate this in my top three of favourite JAZZ Q albums along with the debut and "Elegie". Now that's not counting the album they did with BLUE EFFECT in 1970 which is my favourite one that they have been a part of.

"Pori" has this drum intro which is followed by a calm then the beast starts to rise up before 2 minutes. Another calm then it starts to build before 4 minutes once again. It settles though and the guitar here reminds me of Fripp. Another calm 5 minutes in then this growly bass comes in followed by drums and guitar as the latter starts to light it up. Killer section as the beast is up. Keyboards replace the guitar after 8 minutes then we get another calm before 10 minutes. It's building before 11 minutes. What a song ! "Pozorovatelna" opens with growly bass, electric piano and drums and it's fairly laid back. Guitar before 1 1/2 minutes and it's relaxed. The bass is really growly after 4 minutes but the song continues to stay in check.

"Trifid" has this catchy but laid back start with electric piano, bass and drums. Guitar before 4 1/2 minutes and it's tasteful, although he will start to rip it up before 6 minutes. Guest female vocals before 7 1/2 minutes once the guitar stops. "Klobasove Hody" has these deep and growly bass lines to start then the drums and electric piano join in. The sound picks up, then it picks up even more 3 minutes in with the guitar leading the way and at times being aggressive. It settles back late to end it. "Kartgo" is kind of haunting with bass. Guest violin and sparse piano join in. It's still dark and atmospheric. It starts to pick up 3 1/2 minutes in to end it.

The guest female vocalist on the song "Trifid" is Joan Duggan and she would be front and center on their next album called "Symbiosis". A solid 4 stars and I must admit that if this had more powerful sections to go with the laid back ones this would be 4.5 to 5 stars. Still this is an easy one to recommend.

I'm going to review the final disc in the set which is titled "Rare Tracks" or "Bonusy" and can be only found in this set.

I would rate this particular disc at three stars simply because it is a mixed bag. "Blues Stary Zensky" is bluesy with horns. Male vocals replace the horns after a minute. Not bad. "Zly Sen" is a top three with the keyboards, percussion and female vocals standing out. This is quite jazzy. "Jsem Sva" is uptempo with female vocals. A snappy little number. "Ovci Vina" has female vocal melodies and a dreamy sound. Guitar and a Rock sound after 1 1/2 minutes. Some crazy vocal expressions come and go. It ends like it began. "Blues Holky Na Vdavani" opens with piano as almost spoken female vocals join in. It's fuller before 2 minutes. Bluesy stuff. "Velky Bohem" is a top three and it has lots of percussion like SANTANA, then male vocals come in with guitar. I like the electric piano after 3 minutes. "Prazske Boogie" is male vocals with a catchy sound.

"Zatmeni Mesice" is laid back as male vocals come in. It's fairly intense 3 1/2 minutes in. "Blues Podzimniho Odpoledne" is mellow with reserved vocals and some bluesy guitar. "Obohodnik A Destem" builds with clapping and more. It's okay. "What A Way To Start" is short and cute. "Why Do I Have To Move" has synths a beat and vocals. "Konstelace" is my final top three. Horns and drama with intricate drumming. Electric piano comes in as well. Nice. "Witness To The World" is surprisingly a gospel song with harmonies. This is fun and very well done. Female vocals preach the word. "Goodbye !" ends it with about a nine minute uptempo instrumental. I like it !

I don't have a lot of box-sets, in fact not many at all. I can't justify buying box-sets of music I already own even if it's well packaged with lots of good info. This is a must for JAZZ Q fans and i'm sure i'll be the only one not to give this 4 or 5 stars.